MLB roundup: Betts hits for cycle in Red Sox's loss

Reuters Staff

6 Min Read

Mookie Betts hit for the cycle for the first time in his career Thursday night, but it was not enough to give the visiting Boston Red Sox a three-game sweep over the Toronto Blue Jays, who held on to win 8-5.

Betts hit his 27th homer of the season against Ken Giles in the ninth inning to go with a single in the first, a triple in the second and a double in the fourth. It was the first cycle of the major league season. He also walked in the sixth.

The Blue Jays got a two-run homer and three RBIs from Randal Grichuk, a solo shot from Teoscar Hernandez and five innings from Ryan Borucki to salvage the series finale.

Indians 5, Twins 4

Michael Brantley singled in Greg Allen with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning to give Cleveland its second consecutive walk-off victory over visiting Minnesota.

Allen opened the inning with a single off reliever Addison Reed (1-6), stole second and went to third on groundout by Francisco Lindor — who had won Wednesday night’s contest with a three-run, walk-off homer. Brantley followed with the game-winning single through a drawn-in infield into right field.

It was 12th walk-off loss for Minnesota, the most for the Twins since their 1987 World Series winning squad. Lindor had two hits — his American League-leading 47th multi-hit game — and drove in three runs, and Yonder Alonso homered for Cleveland.

Dodgers 8, Rockies 5

Chris Taylor and Brian Dozier homered in a three-run ninth inning that snapped a 5-5 tie, and Los Angeles beat Colorado in Denver.

Cody Bellinger, Joc Pederson and Max Muncy also went deep for Los Angeles, and Caleb Ferguson (3-1) got the win with 1 2/3 scoreless innings of relief. The Dodgers moved into a tie with the idle Arizona Diamondbacks for first place in the NL West.

Aug 9, 2018; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays left fielder Randal Grichuk (15) gets on base on a fielders choice scoring a run during the first inning against the Boston Red Sox at Rogers Centre. Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports

Chris Iannetta went 3-for-4 with a three-run homer, and Nolan Arenado also had three hits for the Rockies, who have lost three of four on their homestand and fell to 2-7 in August.

Padres 8, Brewers 4

Hunter Renfroe hit a grand slam in the top of the ninth to highlight a six-run inning and lead visiting San Diego to a victory at Milwaukee in the rubber match of a three-game series.

Renfroe’s drive off Joakim Soria into the left field seats was his 12th home run of the season. He has homered in four consecutive games as part of a career-best seven-game hitting streak.

Rookie Franmil Reyes followed Renfroe with an opposite-field homer to right off Jacob Barnes for the Padres’ final run.

Yankees 7, Rangers 3

Giancarlo Stanton hit a mammoth solo homer in the fifth inning, J.A. Happ pitched six solid innings, and New York beat visiting Texas.

Stanton homered for the third straight game when he hammered a 1-1 fastball from rookie Ariel Jurado (2-2) into the lower rows of the left field bleachers.

Stanton’s 28th homer traveled an estimated 449 feet and was clocked at 121.7 mph according to Statcast. It was the hardest hit ball in the majors this season and the hardest hit homer since Statcast was introduced in 2015.

Bryce Harper was in the original starting lineup for the Nationals. Manager Dave Martinez scratched the All-Star in favor of Taylor due to Harper experiencing lower right leg discomfort as a result of being hit by a pitch Wednesday.

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Taylor hit a homer in the fourth to stake Washington to a 3-1 lead. Gonzalez (7-8) gave up one run on six hits and ended a six-game losing streak as the teams split a four-game series.

Mariners 8, Astros 6

Mitch Haniger, Denard Span and Jean Segura — the top third of the Seattle batting order — combined to finish 10-for-13 with six runs and seven RBIs in a win at Houston. The trio totaled seven extra-base hits, with Span and Segura each recording their ninth homers.

James Paxton (10-5) improved to 4-0 in four starts against the Astros this season. Paxton wound up surrendering four runs on seven hits and three walks with five strikeouts over 5 2/3 innings.

Astros starter Justin Verlander was ejected after the second inning, having allowed six runs on seven hits with two strikeouts and no walks.

Rays 5, Orioles 4

Jake Bauers drove in three runs, two on a single that gave Tampa Bay the lead in the seventh inning, as the Rays twice rallied to knock off Baltimore in the rubber game of a three-game series in St. Petersburg, Fla.

After the Orioles broke a 3-3 tie in the top of the seventh on a solo home run by Renato Nunez, the Rays loaded the bases in the bottom of the inning against Cody Carroll (0-1), who walked two in setting up Bauers’ two-out hit to right.

The rally gave Yonny Chirinos (1-4) his first major league win. Chirinos tossed five innings of one-run ball.

Pirates 10, Giants 5

Elias Diaz, Josh Bell and David Freese hit home runs as Pittsburgh, using a five-run seventh inning that was set up by two errors, overpowered host San Francisco in the opener of a four-game series.

Ivan Nova (7-6) limited San Francisco to two runs on three hits over six innings.

Diaz smacked a two-run homer in the second inning off Giants starter Andrew Suarez (4-8), and Bell immediately followed with a long ball as the Pirates took a 3-0 lead and were never headed.